


Reversed Roles

by casangcls



Series: Reversed AU [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27312085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casangcls/pseuds/casangcls
Summary: A classic role reversal AU in which Angel is the slayer and Buffy is the vampire with a soul.
Relationships: Angel/Buffy Summers
Series: Reversed AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129913
Comments: 16
Kudos: 10
Collections: I Will Remember You





	Reversed Roles

**Author's Note:**

> While this isn't the first fanfic I have written, it is the first one I have published online. This is also the first Buffyverse fanfic I have written. I have watched both Buffy and Angel years ago, but I have never been involved in the fandom, so I apologize if this kind of fic is unpopular. I just wanted to do something fun and a little easy for my first time participating in this event. This is rated Teen and up because of language and some slight violence. Overall nothing too graphic. 
> 
> Since Angel is the slayer in this story, I made his friend group the Angel Investigations team instead of the Scooby Gang. So instead of Xander and Willow, Angel's friends are Gunn and Fred. Instead of Giles as the watcher, it's Wesley (I pictured him with his appearance in season 3 of Buffy, but with his personality more in line with the early seasons of Angel). 
> 
> This fic takes the plot of 1x07 of Buffy, so some dialogue from that episode will be seen in this fic. I changed the story a bit though in an attempt to make this fic more interesting and not a complete ripoff of the episode. Darla will still act as Buffy's sire though and Joyce is Angel's mom because I didn't know what else too do for that role. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

The past month was a bit of a whirlwind for Angel and his friends. The new substitute biology teacher turned out to be a praying mantis, luring boys to her house to mate with them. That was probably one of the grossest battles that Angel ever had, he was scrubbing out she-mantis guts for days. Then Gunn got possessed by a hyena spirit along with some bullies that ate the principal. That was just disturbing and Angel was glad that Gunn was not a part of Principal Flutie’s death. 

Living on a hellmouth was proving to be more and more dangerous as weird supernatural creatures were coming to Sunnydale. Not to mention the Master was still out there plotting his return to the surface. Angel knows he should be focusing on how to stop the Master but he couldn't help but think of Buffy, the mysterious woman who only shows up to tell him about the new threat he has to stop. 

Currently, Angel was sitting at a table with Fred on the rare night he wasn't out patrolling. The Bronze was in full swing tonight, packed with people dancing and apparently trying to catch cockroaches. 

"It's the pre-fumigation party" Fred explains, "An annual tradition, the Bronze closes for a few days to terminate the cockroaches. If you catch one you can get a free drink". 

"Hmm" Angel hums, not really paying attention to Fred. He was still thinking about Buffy and how he has started to really crush on her. He didn't know much about her, but she was beautiful and there was something about her that captivated Angel. 

"It's a lot of fun, what's it like where you are" Fred teases knowing her friend is in his own little world. She gives Angel a playful tap on his arm. Angel snaps out of his thoughts and looks at his friend, feeling a bit guilty for ignoring her. 

"Oh, I'm sorry Fred. I just have a lot of things going on in my mind right now". 

"Would that include a certain blonde woman who still wears your leather jacket"? Angel blushes at that remembering how he put his jacket over Buffy's shoulders after he noticed she was cold. She tried to return it afterwards, but Angel thought it looked better on her and let her keep it. 

"Maybe, I don't know". 

"You two would be so cute together"! Fred was partially squealing at this point. "Two cool and strong warriors, fighting alongside each other against the forces of evil. It's like something out of a fairy tale". Angel chuckled at his friend's excitement over his nonexistent love life. 

"I don't know. I like her, but I can't imagine Buffy in a relationship. She's so distant and closed off, I can't really see us having long deep conversations or holding hands walking along the beach or anything romantic like that". 

"You’ll never know unless you try. It's obvious you can't stop thinking about her or staring at her with heart eyes every time she's with you". 

"I know. Whenever she's around, it's like the lights dim everywhere else. Do you know what that feels like"? 

"I do" Fred sighs as she looks up to see Gunn coming to the table with a drink in his hand. 

"Boy that Cordelia is piece of work. I barely bump into her and she's yelling at me to watch where I'm going", Gunn grumbled as he took a sip of his soda. 

"You know what guys I'm going to head out. Not feeling too great". Angel gets up and puts on his coat. 

"You sure man? Night's still young and we haven't even gone out to the dance floor yet". 

"I'm sure Gunn. You and Fred have a fun night, see you guys tomorrow", 

"Good night Angel". Gunn and Fred say as they wave goodbye to Angel. 

Angel walks out of the Bronze and into the night wanting crawl into bed as soon as he got home. Suddenly Angel feels someone following him. He groans out loud not wanting to deal with this right now. 

"Look, whatever you are I'm tired so just come out and let's get this over with". Within seconds Angel is ambushed by three big vampires. They push him down but Angel manages to kick them off him and lead them to an alley. Angel pulls out the stake hidden in his coat, ready to slay them when two of the vampires grab his arms and push him against the fence. He tries to get free, but these vampires are a lot stronger than ones he faced before. The third vampire slowly comes up to him and gets ready to sink his fangs into Angel's neck. 

"You know, biting people isn't very nice", a voice chimes in. Angel looks up to see Buffy grab the vampire by his hair and then punch him in the face. Angel uses this distraction to break free and fight the other two vampires. He manages to push one out of the way and gets ready to stake the other one. However, the vampire was faster and grabbed Angel by the throat, slamming him back against the fence. Buffy notices that Angel is in trouble and runs over to help, she doesn't sense the other vampire coming up behind her with a pointed rod. 

"Look out"! Angel yells, but Buffy wasn't quick enough and the pointed end hit her on her side causing her to fall down. Angel kicks the vampire that was holding him and punches the one that was about to attack Buffy again. "Come on"! Angel helps Buffy up and they start running away from the vampires. It doesn't talk long to reach Angel's house; he quickly unlocks the door and tells Buffy to get in. The three vampires barely make it to the door as Angel slams it shut. They stand still for a bit and then slowly back away. 

"Don't worry", Buffy says. "Vampires can't come into a home unless their invited". 

"I've heard about it but I never put that theory to the test". Angel turns away from the door and sees that Buffy is bleeding through her shirt. "There's a first aid kit in the kitchen. Follow me and I'll help get you fixed up”. 

Angel leads Buffy to the kitchen and goes to the cabinet to get some bandages. He turns his head a little to see Buffy taking off the jacket he had given her. It made his heart flutter to see that she still wears it. Angel makes his way over to Buffy and realizes she needs to lift up her shirt to treat the cut. He tried his best not to blush and started disinfecting her wound. 

"Thanks for the help back there. I'd probably be toast if you hadn't come along. How did you happen to come along"? 

"I live nearby. I was just out walking". 

"So, you weren't following me? I mean I just had this feeling that you were". 

"Why would I do that"? She laughs, giving Angel a soft smile. Angel thought she looked even more beautiful when she smiled. 

"I don't know, you tell me". Angel replies coolly, not trying to make it a big deal. "You're the mystery girl that keeps showing up out of nowhere. Not that I'm not grateful for it tonight, but if you are hanging around, I at least like to know why". 

"Maybe I like you", she whispers. That was not the response Angel was expecting. Did she really mean that? Does she like him in that way? 

"Maybe"? He questions, slowly looking up at her. Angel hadn't realized how close they were, their mouths merely inches apart. Angel could also see how lovely and green her eyes were. It was as if this moment was frozen in time, both just starring at each other, neither one willing to make the next move. The moment came back to reality as Angel could hear his mother opening the front door. He ran to the entrance to make sure those vampires weren't still there and that his mother was okay. 

"Angel, what are you doing"? Joyce questioned, wondering why her son looked so worried. 

"There's a lot of weird people outside at night, I just feel safer with you inside". Angel could see that his mom was going into the kitchen where Buffy was still there. "Um, Mom you must be exhausted". 

The concern in his voice made Joyce turn around to look at her son. "I am. We're such a small gallery, you have no idea..." 

"Well how about you go upstairs and get into bed and I can bring you some tea". Angel interrupted, hoping his mom would just go upstairs already. 

"That's sweet of you. What did you do"? She accuses, clearly not buying into Angel's caring son act. 

"Can't a son just be concerned about his mother"? Behind Angel, Buffy walks in with the jacket on to hide her injury. 

Joyce notices Buffy near the doorway. "Hello". 

"Hello". Buffy tried her best to look as presentable as she could. 

"Oh, okay", Angel trembles a bit as he quickly tries to come up with something. "Buffy this is my mother, Mom this is Buffy. We ran into each other on the way home". 

"It's nice to meet you ma'am". 

"What do you do Buffy"? Joyce inquires, wanting to know why her son has a girl over so late at night. 

"Oh, Buffy's a student. First year at the community college. She was just tutoring me with my math. You know how I've been struggling with math lately". Angel nervously laughs, hoping his mom would believe his lie. 

Joyce stares at him for a minute before she states that she was heading to bed. "And Angel"? She prompts, expecting to hear the same for him. 

"Right, I'll say goodnight to Buffy and do just that". 

Joyce gives another judging look at him. "It was nice to meet you Buffy", and with that she goes upstairs leaving the two alone. 

"Look thanks for patching me up, but I can just go". 

"Those vampires could still be out there and with that cut you're too weak to take them on". 

"I don't want to get you in trouble with your mom". 

"It's fine. My mom's a heavy sleeper. Just wait a bit until she settles into her bedroom". Angel wasn't sure why he wanted Buffy to stay. He looked out the window and he didn't see the vampires anymore. She could just go, but he didn't want her to. A few minutes passed and Angel quickly lead Buffy up the stairs and into his room. "You take the bed, your injured and all". 

"I don't mind taking the floor". 

"No, I insist. Besides, what kind of guy would I be if I let a girl sleep on the floor". Angel made his way to his closet and pulled an extra shirt and shorts for Buffy. “Here”, he hands her the clothing. “Wouldn’t want you to sleep in a blood-soaked shirt”. 

“Thanks”. 

Angel quickly turned away to give Buffy some privacy. He also used this chance to change into his sleepwear. When he was done, he asked if Buffy was decent and faced her when she said she finished changing. The clothes were big on her, but at least she would be comfortable. Angel got an extra blanket and pillow from his bed and began settling down on the floor. 

“You know I’m the slayer, it's my job to fight vampires. So why do you fight them”? Angel asked, wanting to get to know her more. 

“Someone has to”. Buffy sighed as she was getting into the bed. 

“Well, what does your family think of all this”? 

“Their dead”. 

“Oh”. Well, this got awkward. Angel didn’t expect something so dark. “Was it because of vampires”? 

Buffy stilled, as if she were thinking of the event. A minute passed before she simply answered, "It was”. 

“So, this is a vengeance job for you”? 

“It’s getting late. We should get some sleep”. 

Angel could tell that she didn’t want to discuss the topic further. He figured it was too personal and traumatic to talk about, so he let it go and told her goodnight.  
\----  
Early in the morning, Angel woke up to find Buffy opening his closet. “What are you doing”? 

Buffy turned to Angel looking embarrassed that she got caught. “It’s just... well you have school and I don’t want your mom to find me in your room while you're gone”. 

“Oh, right”. Angel hadn’t thought about what to do with Buffy in the morning. She could leave now as the sun slowly started to rise, that way she won’t run into those vampires. However, she was still injured. Maybe she needs a bit of time to heal before she leaves. “That’s probably a good idea. I have some books on my desk you can read so you won’t get bored”. 

Buffy smiled and nodded a thanks at him. She opened the closet door and tossed Angel some clothes. “You should start getting ready for school. You wouldn’t want to be late”. 

Angel laughed. “Okay Mom. I’ll get ready”.  
\----  
Once Angel got to school, he headed towards the library and told his watcher Wesley about the three vampires that attacked him and Buffy last night. Gunn and Fred were also in the library and heard about Angel having Buffy stay at his house for the night. 

“So, she was in your bed? Damn, Angel didn’t know you had it in you”. Gunn teased, relishing in Angel’s shocked look. 

“It wasn’t like that Gunn! She was hurt, so I let her sleep on my bed. I slept on the floor”. 

“Oh, how romantic”! Fred exclaimed, obviously excited about the idea of Angel and Buffy getting together. “Did you... I mean you know”. 

Angel couldn’t help but smile at Fred’s shyness. “No Fred, I didn’t kiss Buffy. I am gentleman after all”, he said with a dramatic gesture that made Fred giggle. 

Wesley walked down the steps with a book in hand, a cup of tea in the other, and with his usual annoyed look. “Can we please focus on more important matters here”. Wesley stands near the table and opens the book next to Angel. “You left the Bronze last night and were attacked by three unusually strong vampires. Did they look like this”? He puts the book down and Angel sees an old picture of the three vampires that attacked him. 

“Yeah, that’s them. What’s with the uniforms”? 

“They are known as The Three. Warrior vampires, they are very proud and very strong”. Wesley takes a quick sip of his tea and continues. “Obviously you are hurting the Master very much. He wouldn’t send The Three for just anyone. We must step up our training with weapons”. 

“Does that mean that they are going to keep coming after me and Buffy”? 

“You and Buffy are not in any immediate danger”, Wesley reassures his slayer. “Eventually the Master will send someone else, but in the meantime The Three having failed will offer their own lives in penance”. 

“That’s good right”? Fred said. “It means that Angel can have some time to train, so that next time he can be ready for whatever the Master sends his way”. 

Gunn nods in agreement. “I guess that means you’ll be sad to let Buffy leave your house. If the Three are not going to be a threat anymore, there won’t be another chance to have her in your room anymore”. 

Angel kicks Gunn from under the table. “Shut up Gunn”! He quickly runs off to his class, not wanting to deal with Gunn’s teasing anymore.  
\----  
Later that evening, Angel returned home after a long training session with Wesley. He puts the leftovers from dinner in a bag to bring to Buffy. She was hiding out in his room all day, he figured she would be hungry. 

Angel opens the door to his bedroom and looks for Buffy. “Buffy”? He calls out after not seeing her. 

Buffy slowly emerges from the dark corner in Angel’s room. “Hey”. 

Angel turns on his lamp to get some light in his room. He approaches Buffy and hands her the bag. “Here, I brought you dinner. Sorry it’s a little plate-less”. Buffy takes the bag and looks at it with amusement, as if she never seen food before. “So, what did you do all day”? 

Buffy discreetly puts the food aside and answers, “I read a little, and I also did a lot of thinking. Thinking about you”. 

This caught Angel by surprised. Buffy was thinking about him? Does this mean what he thought it meant? “Oh”, was all Angel managed to utter. 

“Look, I can’t be around you, because when I am all I can think about is how badly I want to kiss you”. 

“Kiss me”? Angel was shocked by Buffy’s words. She wants to kiss me was the only thought that was running through his mind. He barely heard the rest of her statement. 

“I’m older than you, so this can’t... I better go”. 

“Well, how much older are you”? Angel thought that Buffy couldn’t be more than twenty. That would only mean a four-year age difference. It wasn’t like Angel was a regular high school student, he was the slayer and that meant he couldn’t really have a normal life. Maybe they could make it work. 

Buffy hesitates, not wanting to give Angel an answer. “I should go”. 

Angel slowly walks up to her until their faces were close. It was like last night all over again, expect this time they both lean in for a kiss. They pull back a bit and then kiss again. The kiss starts off soft and then grows more passionate by the second. Buffy runs her hand through Angel’s hair and that makes him pull her even closer to him. Suddenly, Buffy pushes Angel away and turns her back with a growl. 

“What’s wrong”? Angel asks. He goes to reach for her when Buffy quickly turns around and reveals her face full of bumps, yellow eyes, and fangs. There was no mistaking it, Buffy was a vampire. Angel couldn’t help but let out a scream, causing Buffy to jump out the window and run off into the night. 

Joyce comes into Angel’s room having heard her son screaming. “Angel? What happened”? 

Angel glances at the window and sees that Buffy is not there. “Nothing. I thought I saw something outside. I’m fine Mom”. Joyce gave Angel a hug to comfort him. Angel rests his head into his mother’s shoulder, wanting to forget about the event that just happened.  
\----  
The next morning, Angel goes to the library and tells Wesley and his friends about Buffy’s true nature. 

Fred gasps, “Buffy’s a vampire”! 

“I can’t believe this is happening. One minute we were kissing and the next...” Angel was still in disbelief; how could Buffy be a vampire? He turned to Wesley. “Can a vampire ever be a good person? Couldn’t it happen”? 

Wesley takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them. “A vampire isn’t a person at all. It may have the movements, the memories, even the personality of the person it took over. It is still a demon at the core, there is no half way”. 

Angel could tell by Wesley’s matter a fact tone that what he just said was true. It still didn’t answer his question about Buffy though. “Why was she nice to me then? Was it some part of the Master’s plan? It just... it doesn’t make sense”. 

Gunn put his hand on Angel’s back in an attempt to support his friend. “I’m sorry about this. I know how much you like her”. Gunn sighs not wanting to be the voice of reason. “Which is why it pains me to say it, but this may mean you have to slay her”. 

Angel looked at Gunn with sadness in his eyes. The thought did occur to him, but he couldn’t help but still care about Buffy. He looks at Wesley expectantly, hoping that that he had an easy answer to this situation. 

Unfortunately, Wesley chooses now to side with Gunn. “I’m afraid Gunn is right. It is your duty as the slayer to rid vampires off the face of the Earth”. 

Angel let out a sigh. He knows they are right, but Angel doesn’t have the heart right now to kill the only girl he was starting to fall for.  
\----  
Meanwhile, Buffy was entering her apartment. She was still thinking about her kiss with Angel and how it made her feel. She struggled for a while to not have feelings for the slayer, but there was just something about him that made her want to be with him, to always be near him. Whenever he looked at her, she felt at ease, she felt almost human. 

Buffy shrugs off Angel’s jacket when she senses a dark presence in her apartment. Someone was here with her. Buffy tensed, “Who’s here”? 

“A friend”. Buffy turns to see a figure step out of the darkness. “Hey, it’s been a while”, the voice croons. Buffy sees now that it is Darla, the vampire that is acting as the Master’s right hand. 

Buffy rolls her eyes, “A lifetime”. She really did not want to deal with Darla right now. “What’s with the school girl outfit? Does the Master make you play dress up for him”? 

Darla snarled at Buffy comment. “You’re one to talk. Last I heard, you weren’t into high school boys. I guess I figured dressing like this would make you talk to me”. Darla twirled, showing off her look. “You like”? 

Buffy merely sighed. She wasn’t going to let Darla get to her. “What do you want Darla”? 

Darla ignored Buffy and started walking around the place. “It’s cute. You living above ground like your one of them”. She sneered, “You and your new friend are attacking us like one of them”. Darla approaches the wall near the window. “But guess what Buffy, you're not one of them”. Darla opens the blinds and lets the sunlight in causing Buffy to hiss in pain. 

Buffy runs to the other part of the room where the light doesn't touch. “No, I’m not one of them. But I’m not exactly one of you either”. 

Darla laughs, “Is that what you tell yourself”? She makes her way to the refrigerator, opening it to find dozens of stolen blood bags from the hospital. “You’re not exactly living off quiche.” Darla walks towards Buffy with a sinister smile. She reaches her hand out and starts stroking Buffy’s hair. “I know what you really crave for”, she whispers in Buffy’s ear. “You can only suppress your true nature for so long. I can feel it inside you”, Darla laughs again. “I only hope I’m around when it explodes”. 

Buffy growls and forces Darla’s hand away from her. “Maybe you don’t want to be”. 

Darla continues to laugh. “I’m not afraid of you... but I bet he is though”. That comment causes Buffy to still. “Or maybe I’m underestimating him”. Darla starts heading towards the door. “Talk to him, tell him about the curse. Maybe he’ll come around and if he still doesn’t trust you, you’ll know where I’ll be”. Darla slams the door on her way out, leaving Buffy with nothing but her thoughts. She didn’t even notice Darla take the leather jacket with her.  
\----  
After school, Angel and the group are at the library trying to research some information on Buffy when Wesley comes in with a large book. 

“Here’s something interesting. There’s no mention of Buffy, but after reading some of the old diary entries of former watchers I found a description that could be related to her.” Wesley clears his throat before reading the passage. “They mention here some 240 years ago in England of a vampire named Elizabeth. She had long blonde hair and green eyes, she was seen was a rare beauty”. 

“Well, they got the beauty part right”. Angel sighed; he did not want this to be true. 

“How do we know this chick is Buffy though”? Gunn questioned, sensing that his friend needed reassurance. “I mean there are a lot of girls with blonde hair and green eyes”. 

Wesley turned the page and set the book down on the table. “Does this look like anyone familiar”? There on the page was a black and white picture of Buffy in centuries old clothing. 

“It is her”, Angel shook his head in disappointment. “I can’t believe it”. 

Fred rested her hand on top of Angel’s, trying her best to comfort him. “I’m sorry Angel”. 

Angel let out a dry laugh. “Well, she did say she was older. I just didn’t think she was this much older”. Angel’s heart broke, finally letting this revelation settle in. “Wesley, is there anything else these entries say about her”? 

Wesley starts reading from the book again. “It says that Elizabeth leaves England, wreaks havoc in Europe for several decades, and then about 80 years ago something strange happens”. Wesley flips to the next page, “She comes to America, shuns other vampires, and lives alone. There’s no record of her hunting here”. 

Fred gives Angel’s hand a squeeze. “So, she is a good vampire! I mean if she’s not killing anybody anymore that means she’s good now right”? 

Wesley looks at Fred and says, “Well there is no record here, but vampires hunt and kill. It’s what they do”. 

“She could have fed on me but she didn’t.” Angel so desperately wanted to hold on to hope that Buffy was good. 

“Alright, question”. Gunn says, “Before she came over here, what was she like then”? 

Wesley sighed, “Like all vampires. A vicious, violent killer”. 

Angel quickly got up and gathered his things. “I can’t be here right now. It’s starting to get dark; I should go out and patrol”. 

“Angel...” Wesley starts but he is cut off by Angel. 

“Look, you said it’s my duty to kill vampires and that’s what I’m going to do”! Angel ran out, leaving his friends worried by his sudden outburst.  
\----  
At the cemetery, Angel looks around for any rising vampires. His mind kept thinking of Buffy. She had never done anything to hurt him, he can’t just kill her because it was his calling. He kept thinking of their kiss and how amazing it was. He never felt so strongly about someone, but of course fate could not be kind to him and he has fallen for the very thing he was meant to destroy. 

Angel was so lost in his thoughts; he almost missed the sound of footsteps approaching. He turns around and sees a blonde woman in a leather jacket walking away. His slayer senses alert him that she’s a vampire. Looking closer Angel realizes she’s wearing his jacket. There was only one girl that could have that jacket. 

“Buffy”? He calls out, but she keeps walking. Angel decides to follow her. Suddenly, she starts running away from him. “Buffy”! Angel was starting to wonder if it really was her. 

The blonde girl stops as Angel catches up with her. He reaches out to her when she turns around to face him. Angel doesn't get a good look as he feels something piercing into his neck. Fangs, he realized but it was too late. 

Angel tries to get her off him, but he was getting weak as he was being drained of his blood. He cursed himself for not having his cross necklace with him. He tries to see the woman’s face when he drops to the ground. Angel was losing consciousness, his vision getting blurry and he was unable to clearly look at the vampire’s face. She doesn’t try to feed him her blood, she just walks away laughing. It’s the last thing he hears as the world turns dark.  
\----  
Buffy was hoping to catch Angel at the cemetery so that they could talk. As she approached the graves, she smelled blood and quickly ran to the scent. If her heart could still beat, it would surely stop right now. There on the ground lied Angel. She kneeled down to him and saw the bite mark on his neck. 

“No”. She whimpered. “No! Angel! Angel, please wake up”! She put her ear on his chest hoping to find a heartbeat. She let out an unneeded breath as she could hear his heart, but it was very faint. The smell of his blood was hitting her now. It had been so long since she had fresh human blood, she couldn’t help but shift into her vampire face. 

Buffy slowly leaned down and darted her tongue out. She then jerked up and shook her head to try to change back. She will not feed off Angel, she was stronger than the bloodlust. 

“Oh my God”! Buffy heard a girl scream. She turned to see Angel’s friends right behind her. 

Gunn looked absolutely furious. “You monster! How could you betray him like this”! 

Buffy was going to try to explain things when Gunn pulled out a stake. Knowing there wasn’t time to talk things out she ran away. 

Gunn was about to run after her when Fred called him back. “Charles just let her go! You can’t take her. Angel needs our help right now”. Knowing Fred was right, Gunn put his stake away and turned around. 

Fred pulled out her cellphone and called 911. Gunn kneeled down to examine Angel. “You’re going to be okay man just hang on. Please just hang on”.  
\----  
When Angel woke up, he sees his mother right next to him sitting on a chair. “Mom”? He whispers, still weak from the loss of blood. 

Joyce pulls her son into a tight embrace. “Oh honey, you're awake! I was so worried about you”! 

“What happened”? 

“Your friends called me. They said you fell on a pair of scissors at the library and lost a lot of blood. It’s a good thing we’re a perfect blood match. The doctors were able to give you a transfusion right away.” Joyce gives Angel a kiss on his forehead. 

Angel slowly realizes what had actually happened and asks his mother if his friends were here. Joyce says that they are in the waiting room along with the librarian from his school. “The teachers at your school really do care” Joyce says with amazement. She stands up and heads for the door. “I’ll let you catch up with your friends. I’m going to get some food”. 

As soon as Joyce leaves, the gang shows up in Angel’s room. Wesley is the first to speak up. “Angel are you alright? Do you remember what happen”? 

“I remember Wesley”. He turns to face Gunn and Fred. “I guess this is the one time I’m grateful that you two followed me while on patrol”. 

“Well, we knew you were torn up about the whole Buffy thing to focus on slaying. We thought you might need some help”. Fred explained. 

“Good thing we did”. Gunn chimed in. “Buffy would’ve killed you if we weren’t there”. 

Angel shook his head. “It wasn’t her. She didn’t bite me”. 

Gunn looked at him in confusion. “Uh, I know you were knocked out for most of it, but Fred and I saw Buffy vamped out kneeling in front of you”. 

“Guys I’m telling you it wasn’t Buffy. When you saw her, was she wearing my jacket”? 

Fred shook her head. “No, she wasn’t. She was wearing a red jacket not a black one like yours”. 

“The vampire that bit me was wearing my jacket, I thought it was Buffy but as she was biting me, I could sense that it wasn’t her”. 

Gunn nodded along. "And since Buffy wasn’t wearing the jacket, then it really wasn’t her”. 

“If Buffy didn’t bite you, then who did”? Wesley questioned. 

“I don’t know. Whoever it was wanted to make me think it was Buffy, probably so that I wouldn’t trust her”. 

“Perhaps that is why she didn’t kill you or turn you” Wesley chimed in. “She wanted to frame Buffy. For what reason though reminds a mystery”. 

Angel knew he had to talk to Buffy, he needed answers right now.  
\----  
Buffy sat on her chair as she thought of Angel. She hoped he was okay, she needed to see him, to explain everything and clear things with his friends. She could only imagine what she looked like to them, a horrifying beast looming over Angel’s unconscious body and his neck sporting a bite wound. They had every right to think it was her, she was a monster after all. 

Just then, Darla storms into Buffy’s apartment. Buffy looks up to see Darla wearing Angel’s jacket and if that wasn’t enough, she could smell Angel’s blood still hanging from Darla’s lips. 

Buffy growled and slammed Darla against the wall. “You! You hurt Angel! Why”? 

Darla didn’t seem bothered by Buffy’s hands around her wrists. “You’re hurting me, I like it”, she laughed. 

“Darla”. Buffy warned, tightening her grip even more. 

“Are you sure you’re not just jealous that I got a piece of the slayer first. That I got to feel his warm blood filling my mouth”. 

Buffy threw Darla to the ground. “Shut up! I would never hurt him”! 

“You sure about that? Because you’ve been staring at my lips since you pinned me against the wall, and I know it’s not because you want me. You want him. Go ahead my dear girl, taste your little slayer all around my mouth”. 

Buffy sighed and looked Darla in the eyes. “No, you're not going to get to me Darla. I’m not that your girl anymore”. 

Darla scowled and wiped the blood off her mouth. “Fine”! She stood up, took the jacket off and threw it at Buffy. “Good luck trying to explain to him what happen. He saw me wear that, he thought it was you and I saw his friends find you with him. He’ll never believe you. He’ll kill you unless you give in to who you truly are”. Darla makes her way to the door and turns one last time. “Did you really think he was going to look at your face, your true face and give you a kiss? There are only two ways this ends, either he kills you or you kill him. Think about that next time you see him”. She slams the door on her way out. 

Buffy let out the tears she was holding back. If Angel really thought it was her that attacked him, then it’s over. He was passed out when his friends found them, it’s not like they’re going to care about what she was wearing. All they saw was Buffy wearing her vampire face and Angel with bite marks. She knew she could never kill Angel, so the only way to end it was to let him kill her.  
\----  
Angel was able to get out of the hospital that night and convince his mother to let him sleep over at Gunn’s house. In reality, he was at the library getting his crossbow ready to confront Buffy. Wesley questioned his plan to face Buffy despite her not being the one to attack him. However, Angel made up his mind. Sure, Buffy didn’t bite him, but he still had no idea if he could trust her. He needed to be prepared just in case. 

Angel told his friends he needed to go alone, Buffy was a very powerful vampire and he wanted them to be safe. He remembered Buffy say she lived near the Bronze and headed in that direction. As Angel approached the closed club, he saw someone run inside. His slayer senses told him it was a vampire and he followed them inside. 

Once inside, Angel started to look around for the vampire. He could sense that they were near as he walked toward the stage. The curtain open and from the stage side, Buffy appeared in front of Angel. 

“You might want to point that crossbow a little higher”. Buffy jumped off the stage but stayed a good distance away from Angel. “Or how about I make it easier for you”. 

Angel still held out his weapon as he looked at Buffy. “What do you mean”? 

“Oh, come on. You wouldn’t have brought that weapon with you unless you were planning to kill me”. 

“I don’t want to kill you, unless you give me a reason to”. 

“Didn’t I give you one back at the cemetery, when I fed off you”. Buffy’s voice was calm, almost emotionless. She just wanted this to be over. 

Angel tilted his head. “What are you talking about? I know it wasn’t you. It took until she bit me to sense that it was another vampire”. 

Buffy’s head shot up and looked at Angel. “You knew it wasn’t me”? She whispered, hoping he was telling the truth. 

Angel slowly lowered his crossbow. “I want to trust you Buffy. You’ve helped me and fought beside me, but I need to know if you’re playing me right now. I’m willing to let you explain yourself”. 

Buffy looked away from Angel and whispered. “I don’t even know where to start”. 

“Can you at least tell me why you never took a chance to fed from me”? 

“I almost did tonight. I found you on the ground at the graveyard and the scent of your blood caused me to shift”. 

Angel couldn’t help but shudder at that confession. Buffy really did consider drinking from him. 

Buffy felt Angel’s discomfort and said, “Just kill me Angel. It’s obvious my control slips when I’m around you. Who knows what might happen next time? Maybe I won’t be able to stop myself”. 

Angel decided to be risky and placed his crossbow down on the ground. He slowly walked up to Buffy and offered her the other side of his neck. “Go ahead”. 

Buffy looked at Angel and stayed still. She could smell the blood clinging on his bandage. It smelled good, but Buffy could not bring herself to hurt Angel. 

That was all the proof Angel needed to know Buffy wouldn’t bite him. “Please, tell me why you always help me instead of trying to kill me”. 

Buffy sighed and began to tell her story. “About 100 years ago, I fed on a boy about your age. He was a favorite among the Romani people. The elders conjured up a curse for me as punishment. They gave me a soul”. 

“A soul? Is that supposed to mean something”? 

“When you become a vampire, the demon takes over your body but it doesn’t get your soul, that’s gone. No conscious, no remorse, it’s an easy way to live. With my soul back, I can remember the pain I have caused and the horrors I have committed. That’s why I didn’t feed on you tonight, I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you”. 

“So why do you want me to kill you? If you didn’t attack me, why would you let me kill you”. 

“Because I’m a monster Angel! You saw my real face; you know what I am! Having a soul doesn’t change what I am! It doesn’t chance what I did! I deserve this”! 

“Really? Because I just gave you another chance to drink from me and you didn’t take it. I don’t really know about who you were, but seeing who you are now, helping me and fighting evil, that sounds like someone that has the power to do good. That doesn’t sound like a monster to me”. 

Buffy couldn’t help but tear up at Angel’s words. She doesn’t deserve his kindness, but at the same time it felt good to have someone believe in her, to have someone not see her as just a monster. 

“What a lovely moment”. A voice cuts in. Angel and Buffy turn to see Darla at the center of the stage, her hands behind her back. 

“Darla”! Buffy growled. 

One look at Darla and Angel realized that this was the vampire that bit him earlier. He also noticed that she was one of the vampires that was helping the Master during the harvest. 

“Do you know what the saddest thing in the world is? To love someone who used to love you”. Darla gave Buffy a sly look, causing Buffy to look away from Angel’s glance. 

Angel looked between Darla and Buffy when he figured it out. “You mean you two were involved”? 

Darla smirked. “For several generations... I was the one that made her. There was a time where we used to share everything, wasn’t there Elizabeth”? 

Buffy tightened her fists. “That was a long time ago Darla. I’m not Elizabeth anymore”. 

Darla rolled her eyes. “Right, because you have a soul and feel bad about being a mean old vampire. You were meant to rule beside me in the Master’s court for thousands of years, but you threw that away because of him”, she gestured angrily towards Angel. “You love someone that hates us. You’re sick and you’ll always be sick, and you’ll always remember what it was like to watch him die”. 

Buffy quickly pulled Angel behind her, trying to protect him for whatever Darla had planned. 

Darla laughed. “You don’t think I came alone did you”? 

“I know I didn’t”. Angel kicked his crossbow up to his hands, aiming it at Darla’s heart. 

“Scary”, Darla mocked. She then revealed the guns she had hidden behind her. “Scarier”. She fired one of them at Buffy, causing Buffy to fall down in pain as the bullet hit her stomach. 

“Buffy”! Angel cried out. 

Darla jumped down from the stage. “Don’t worry, bullets can’t kill vampires. It can still hurt like hell though”. 

Darla began firing both guns at Angel. Angel quickly ducked behind the pool table for safety. He made sure his crossbow was ready. He quickly fired an arrow in Darla’s direction. 

It hit her a little too low as she was still standing. “Close, but no heart”. Darla removed the arrow and threw it on the ground. She hopped up on the pool table, looking for Angel. Suddenly, Angel pops up and drags the table towards him. This causes Darla to fall and Angel pushes the table away with Darla continuing to shoot at him. 

Angel ran behind the counter, hoping that Darla will ran out of bullets soon. He should have bought more arrows with him. 

“Come on Angel, take it like a man”. Darla still fires at Angel, not realizing that Buffy grabbed the arrow she threw and is sneaking up behind her. Buffy plunges the arrow in Darla’s back, making it pierce all the way to her heart. Darla groans in pain and looks back at Buffy, shocked that she would do this to her. “Buffy”? It was the last word she said as she turned into dust. 

Angel looks up in time to see what had happened. Buffy looks at the pile of dust that used to be her sire. She can’t help but feel sad for killing Darla, but she was glad that Angel was safe. She gives Angel one last look before heading off. Angel is too shocked to say anything and let’s Buffy go.  
\----  
A few days passed before the Bronze re-opens. Angel, Gunn, and Fred arrive to see that nothing has changed from the fumigation. 

“So”, Fred says. “Have you heard from Buffy yet”? 

“No. It’s weird though; in a way I feel like she’s still watching me”. 

“Well, in a way she kind of is. In a way that she’s right over there”. Gunn points Angel into the direction where he sees Buffy leaning against the wall. 

Angel can’t help but smile when he sees her. He looks back at his friends and they give him the okay to walk over to her. Angel makes his way through the crowd and meets Buffy halfway near the dancefloor. 

Buffy is the first to speak. “Hey, I just wanted to see if you were okay”. 

Angel nods. “I’m good, the wound is gone already. Are you okay”? 

Buffy laughs. “Yeah, if I can go a while without getting shot or stabbed, I’ll be alright”. 

Angel laughs with Buffy. He has missed seeing that smile. “I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life again. I know it was difficult for you to kill Darla. I mean she probably meant a lot to you in the past”. 

Buffy shook her head. “I mean I won’t lie, it felt wired killing her, but those days are gone. I didn’t have a soul for all those years I was with her. I could never really love her. Not now and not even back then, not like...” She cut herself off, not wanting to admit out loud her love for Angel. It was too soon. 

Angel didn’t push for Buffy to finish her thoughts. “So, will I still see around”? 

“Of course, who else is going to rescue you from constant danger”. Buffy laughs, but then she decides to get serious. “Look, this thing between us, it can’t be...” 

“Anything? Yeah, I figured. For one thing you're like 224 years older than me”. 

“Yeah. I should get going”. 

“Right. Me too”. 

They both smile at each other, neither one of them wanting to leave. Angel slowly leans in and Buffy closes the space between their lips. Angel’s hands gently caress Buffy’s back and Buffy runs her hands through his hair like last time. They slowly pull away and gaze into each other's eyes. 

Angel gives Buffy one last smile. “See you around”. He turns around and walks over to his friends. Buffy looks over fondly, not caring about the burn mark Angel’s necklace made on her chest.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment if you want. 
> 
> If you couldn't tell, I am new to ao3 which is why I didn't use any specific tags. I don't think there is anything particularly bad in this fic that would require any warnings, but if there is something in this story that you feel I need to have tagged please let me know. 
> 
> I also do not have a beta. I proofread everything before I published it, but I am not perfect. If you see any mistakes, please kindly point them out to me.


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